These rich and decadent Flourless Pecan Brownies are incredibly chewy, fudge-like, and loaded with pecans that pair so well with the deep chocolate flavor!
I love all my brownie recipes for each of their unique qualities. Peanut Butter Brownies are decadent and balanced with the salty peanut butter inside, Mint Cream Cheese Brownies are the best of both cheesecake and brownies in one dessert, and Cookies & Cream Brownies are perfect for those with an extra sweet tooth!
The combination of chocolate and pecans is so good. If you prefer, you could make this recipe with walnuts or almonds instead, but I love pecans in brownies. My Fudge Brownie Pecan Pie is another delicious pecan chocolate recipe to try for Thanksgiving!
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⭐️ Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Flavorful. Without flour, these brownies are made with only cocoa powder which gives a dark cocoa flavor.
- Balanced. The nuttiness of the pecans balances out the sweetness of the brownie.
- Chewy. The addition of a little bit of cream of tartar ensures the brown sugar won't crystalize and achieves a chewy texture.
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make these flourless pecan brownies.
- Salted Butter - If you are using unsalted butter, be sure to add ⅛ teaspoon of additional salt to the recipe for best flavor development.
- Cocoa Powder - Dutch-processed cocoa powder is what I use and recommend for a smooth, deep chocolate flavor. I buy this Rodelle cocoa.
- Cream of Tartar - Helps break down the sugar crystals to avoid a gritty texture from the brown sugar and contributes to a chewy texture.
- Pecans - Chopped pecan halves are what I use. I think walnuts or almonds would be delicious instead. Or you can use chocolate chips for a nut-free flourless brownie.
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, egg, egg yolk, cream of tartar, and salt for 2 minutes or until light and slightly fluffy.
Step 2: Add the cocoa powder to the combined wet ingredients.
Step 3: Whisk until smooth and fully combined.
Step 4: Fold in the chopped pecans.
Step 5: Spread into a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until puffed up slightly and no longer super jiggly.
💡 Top Tip
Underbake the brownies just slightly if you like a fudgy and soft brownie that is perfect served hot with ice cream!
❓ Recipe FAQs
Yes, these brownies naturally do not contain gluten but can be completely gluten-free if you use certified gluten-free ingredients.
Flourless brownies are mostly made up of butter, sugar, eggs, and cocoa powder.
Brownies with a fudgy texture contain a greater proportion of fat to flour compared to cakey brownies.
Store the fully cooled brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
🍫 More Brownie Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these Pecan Flourless Brownies or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Flourless Pecan Brownies
Equipment
- 9x9-inch baking pan
- parchment paper
- large mixing bowl
- electric handheld mixer
Ingredients
- ¼ cup salted butter * melted
- 1 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup cocoa powder (I use Dutch-processed cocoa)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans *
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 9X9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving the edges to hang over the sides of the pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed for 2 full minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk and continue beating on high for 30 seconds.
- Add the cocoa powder, cream of tartar, and salt and beat on low speed until combined. Lastly, fold in the chopped nuts. Pour batter into the lined pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. The brownies should look fully cooked on top but still be gooey in the center.
- These brownies would be wonderful served warm with ice cream or let them cool to room temperature on the counter before chilling in the refrigerator to serve cold. I LOVE these brownies served cold, they are super chewy and fudge-like when cold! Enjoy!
Notes
- If you are using unsalted butter, be sure to add ⅛ teaspoon of additional salt to the recipe for best flavor development.
- Walnuts or almonds would be delicious instead of pecans. Or you can use chocolate chips for a nut-free flourless brownie.
Kaleigh Stroink
Made these tonight and they're amazing! Don't even have the weird GF taste that you get from some foods. I made them for my coworkers and I hope she likes them (she's GF)! And I actually had and used all the right ingredients for this recipe. 😀
Naomi Andres
Thank you so much, Kaleigh! I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this recipe!
Naomi
Casey W.
These are chocolatey, so how could they not be good?! We enjoyed them! I do wish I had had dark brown sugar on hand, but I substituted with light brown sugar. I also added marshmallows on top to use up some I had, but I wouldn't do that again; these are probably best made exactly how you wrote the recipe. 😉 I think I'll try eating them cold next time as you suggested!
Naomi
That's great, Casey!! Thank you for reviewing this recipe!
Naomi